The present invention is directed to a method for identifying when a subscriber is responsible for paying for a wireless call. More particularly, in an environment in which a user may subscribe to a xe2x80x9ccalling party paysxe2x80x9d service for wireless communications, the present invention provides a technique for notifying the subscriber that a received wireless call is either a xe2x80x9ccalling partyxe2x80x9d pays call or xe2x80x9ccalled party paysxe2x80x9d call.
Wireless communication, a popular mode of carrying voice and/or data information between parties, have enabled subscribers to engage in mobile communications. Historically, the wireless subscriber has assumed responsibility for paying for all calls involving the wireless terminal device. That is, the subscriber pays not only for calls originating from the wireless device, but also agrees to pay for all calls directed to the wireless device. These fees include the air time charges for the wireless device as well as any long distance charges arising from the fact that the wireless device is roaming (i.e., outside of its normal service region).
Depending on the subscriber""s intended use of the wireless phone, it may be desirable to the user or subscriber to have the option of agreeing to pay for receiving calls from some parties while requiring that other calling parties actually absorb the costs for contacting the subscriber on the wireless communication device.
An example of a system in which a mobile station is serviced is illustrated in block diagram form in FIG. 1. Here, mobile station 10 can communicate via over the air signals with a base station (BS) that is assigned to the geographic region in which the mobile station is located. The base station is coupled to a mobile switching center (MSC) which is coupled to the PSTN, for example, through a local exchange carrier (LEC). This enables the mobile station to originate a call to another party such as a user at a wireline phone connected to the PSTN. Alternatively, in the known system, a caller can dial the mobile identification number (MIN) of the subscriber""s wireless terminal. That call is then set up by the wireless service provider. First, control signals are transmitted via the Signaling System 7 (SS7) network (shown as the dashed lines) to the Home Location Register (HLR) for the wireless terminal. The HLR includes information about where the terminal device was last registered, namely it identifies a serving MSC (S-MSC). The call can then be routed to the S-MSC associated with mobile station 10 and a call can be connected to the mobile station via the S-MSC.
In an effort to solve the issue of the called party paying for all calls, it has been proposed to provide a calling party pays service. This service could rely on a number translation database in much the same manner that xe2x80x9c800xe2x80x9d services now operate. Namely, rather than the user giving a MIN to calling parties, the user would be assigned a xe2x80x9c500xe2x80x9d number for example and all such 500 number calls would be routed to a special servicing database which would correlate or translate the 500 number to the wireless terminal""s MIN. In turn, the MIN would be used to identify the S-MSC and the call could be routed to the terminal device. All calls in this service would be paid for by the calling party.
While this may at first seem appealing to a subscriber, there might be some reluctance to subscribe to a service in which the only access number to the mobile terminal invokes the calling party pays requirement. The typical subscriber may wish to absorb costs for some calls while requiring others to pay the costs for remaining calls. The 500 number translation arrangement proposed would not address this concern.
The present invention provides a technique by which a called party who has subscribed to a calling party pays service can identify whether the called party or the calling party is responsible for paying for a call which the terminal station has received. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the terminal station has associated therewith two numbers, its MIN and a translation number, such as a xe2x80x9c500 numberxe2x80x9d. If a calling party attempts to access the subscriber via direct input of the MIN into the telephone system, then the called party is responsible for payment of the call. If, however, the calling party enters the xe2x80x9c500 numberxe2x80x9d which is subsequently translated into the MIN, then the calling party assumes responsibility for paying for the call. In the latter circumstance, the data translation operation and the MSC""s operation for transmitting call data to the mobile terminal operate together so as to advise the terminal station device that the received call is coming by way of an input of the xe2x80x9c500 numberxe2x80x9d which indicates to the subscriber, even before answering the call, that the calling party will be paying for the received call. This arrangement provides the subscriber with the flexibility of having some percentage of the calls to their wireless terminal be the payment responsibility of calling parties and at the same time identifies to the wireless subscriber whether the call originated in such a manner that the calling party has assumed responsibility for paying for the call.